Saturday, October 31, 2009

Halloween is such fun! I'll be writing a Domestic Diva Mystery that takes place at Halloween next and I can't wait. But don't look for it until the fall of 2011.Since so much candy and sugar is consumed on Halloween, I figure the important thing is to let the little ghosts and goblins fill up on something semi-healthy before they head out the door. The quickest way to do that is to incorporate Halloween into lunch or dinner. I started thinking about potato ghosts on a pizza, but honestly, a Halloween pizza is the fastest meal for a busy mom or dad to fix, so I decided to do them separately after all. If you're pressed for time, you're probably not going to be inclined to mash potatoes. Ghost Potatoes are fabulous, though, and can be served for an adult dinner party, too. The best news is that you can mash the potatoes in advance and store them in your fridge until you're ready to bake them.

1. Peel potatoes and cut into large cubes. Place in large pot with enough water to cover them. Add 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil. When they boil, turn down the heat a bit and cook them until easily pierced by a fork, about 15 - 20 minutes.

2. Drain the potatoes. Mashed potatoes arebest when the potatoes are put through a ricer. However, in the interest of laziness, I usually put them in my KitchenAid mixer to mash them.3. Pour the milk into a 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup, add the butter, and microwave until nicely warm, but not hot.

4. Whisk the egg yolks a bit with a fork, then add just a bit of the warm milk to them and whisk again so they won't seize when added to the hot potatoes. Add the yolks to the milk in the measuring cup.5. Mash the potatoes in the mixer, slowly adding the milk mixture. Mix until mashed, but don't over-mix, or they'll get gummy. Salt to taste.

6. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.7. Butter a shallow baking dish. I used a glass Pyrex pie pan.

8. Spread about 1/3 of the potatoes on the bottom of the pan. Spoon the potatoes into a pastry bag with a large tip. Don't have one? Use a plastic freezer bag and snip a hole in the corner. Squeeze out ghosts!9. Cut the raisins lengthwise and slice into little bits. Place two raisin pieces on each ghost as eyes.20. Bake about 20 minutes. The tops should have a tiny golden tip.

NOTE: I had some leftover potatoes that had not been baked, so I scooped them into a container and stuck them in the fridge for two days. When I took them out, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees, and found they were very malleable. Your imagination (or in my case, lack of artistic talent) is your only limitation. I pressed the potatoes into a funky goblin shape, decorated him with almonds, and popped him into the oven. He tasted just as good as the ghosts had days before!

And now, for the very busy --

Halloween Pizza

1 frozen pizza (Cheese works best, but almost any will do.)Use anything you happen to have in the freezer, the fridge, or the pantry.

olives (excellent for eyes and nostrils)hard cheesespepperonired or orange pepperspecans or walnuts (make great teeth!)Canadian bacon

Cut into eyes, nose and vicious teeth. If you're using cheese (I used Gouda for the eyes), heat the pizza before adding the decorative cheese or it will melt out of shape.

Monster Eyeballs

What kid could resist these bloodshot monster eyeballs?

watermelonolivesfrozen peas -- or -- marshmallows

Use a melon baller or an ice cream scoop to carve eyeballs out of watermelon. Add a slice of olive. Place a frozen pea or a piece of marshmallow in the center of each olive slice. (The frozen peas will thaw and be perfectly edible. If you need them in a hurry, heat a few in a pot of water.) These can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. A fun way to start the day at breakfast!